


There was a time I wanted vengeance

by smaragdbird



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coping, Established Relationship, M/M, Mistaken for Cheating, Nightmares, Slavery, Team as Family, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, Violence, backstory of Kallus' sideburns, relationships take work, saw's not portrayed in a good light here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 11:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12456812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smaragdbird/pseuds/smaragdbird
Summary: When the Ghost team is asked to work with Saw Gerrera to find out what happened on Geonosis, a figure from Kallus' past brings up bad memories and causes the definite break between the Rebellion and the Partisans.





	1. Chapter 1

“Again!” Kallus yelled, ignoring the sweat dripping into his eyes or his muscles screaming in protest.

But Zeb shook his head and lowered his staff. “That’s enough for today.”

“Tired?” A hard line appeared around Kallus’ mouth. “Thrawn trains with droids. Maybe I should get one of them if you’re already flagging.”

Zeb laid his ears back and narrowed his eyes. “Hey”, he said sharply, a reminder that he and Kallus were on the same side now.

For a moment Kallus held his gaze, intent on picking a fight but then his shoulders dropped and he lowered his staff as well. “Sorry”, he said glancing away from Zeb.

“You don’t need to take Thrawn on your own.”

“He’s not going to catch me on the wrong foot a second time. Him or anyone else.”

“You’re not alone anymore.”

The look Kallus gave him wasn’t entirely convinced but he let the topic rest. He hadn’t really talked about the Empire or Thrawn at all since Atollon. On Yavin he and Hera had spent a lot of time in meetings, relaying information and re-organising the Rebellion after the loss of so many ships. The first couple days everyone had walked on eggshells around Kallus, waiting for some kind of breakdown that had never come. Zeb hadn’t forced the issue and he had asked the others to do the same. From his own experience he knew that Kallus would talk when he was ready to. Kriff, it had taken him years and the re-discovery of his peoples’ home planet to get over the genocide. 

Besides it wasn’t as if Kallus was the only Imperial defector amongst the rebels. Maybe he’d prefer to talk with one of them than with anyone currently on the Ghost. Sabine had gone back to Mandalore but Wedge and Kallus seemed to get along pretty well.

Zeb would like it if Kallus confided in him like they had opened up to one another on Bahryn but he understood if he preferred to talk with someone else. He threw an arm around Kallus’ shoulders and pulled him close. “Want to take advantage of the base’s showers?”

“Do you ever think of something else but sex?” Kallus huffed and rolled his eyes but he didn’t move away. Their relationship was new enough that sex was a sure fire distraction from anything.

“Occasionally”, Zeb replied, pressing his nose against Kallus’ hair and inhaled deeply. Being a Lasat meant his sense of smelling had a wider range than a human’s and he liked the way Kallus’ smelled especially when he was sweaty like right now.

“Ugh”, came Ezra’s voice from behind them. “Do you have to do this here?”

“Would you rather have us do it in the room?” Zeb replied with a lecherous grin. 

“I’d rather if you didn’t do it anywhere I could walk in on you.”

“Why did you come here in the first place?”

“Hera wants to talk with Kallus. Something about an upcoming mission.”

Kallus slipped out from under Zeb’s arm. “I’ll not let her wait, then.”

But Zeb grabbed him by the waist and pressed himself against Kallus’ back. “I’ll wait with that shower then”, he said just loud enough for Ezra to hear before he let Kallus go.

“Kanan and Hera have more restraint than you two!” Ezra protested loudly.

“They’ve had longer to get it out of their system”, Zeb replied as he watched Kallus leave, wondering what kind of mission Hera wanted to talk with him about.

/

“Commander Syndulla”, Kallus said when he entered the room, standing to attention. Some habits were hard to break and he remembered the comments he had made about her only too well and didn’t want to come across as disrespectful. 

“Kallus”, she gave him a smile. “Have you ever been to Onderon?”

He clamped down on the momentary bout of panic. “Once, about fifteen years ago.”

“Did you ever encounter Saw Gerrera?”

“Not personally, no.”

“Would it be a problem for you to work with him?”

“I’ve heard Gerrera takes a dim view on Imperial turncoats but you won’t have any problems from my side.”

“Good, I hope this’ll work out as long as one side can act professionally”, Hera muttered more to herself than to him. She looked at him and added, “We’re trying to find out what happened on Geonosis.”

“You think the Empire had an ulterior motive for the genocide?”

“You don’t?”

“It was one of the first things I tried to find out after Zeb and I got stranded on Bahryn but whatever the answer is, it’s way above my pay grade. And maybe it isn’t a secret”, Kallus shrugged. “Geonosis was one of the core CIS worlds. We’ve made an example of worlds for lesser offenses.”

Hera didn’t seem fazed by his slip up. “The Empire didn’t make this one public like they did with Lasan. Not a very effective decision if they wanted to bring other CIS worlds to heel with the genocide.”

“You think that they’re hiding something on Geonosis?”

“Not anymore but I think they used to. And I think it’s important enough to warrant genocide to keep it secret.” She watched him closely as Kallus put the facts together. He had insight in Imperial protocols that the rest of them were lacking. While there were a lot of Imperial defectors amongst the rebels not many had been as high ranking as Kallus had been. “You have an idea.”

“Whatever they hid on Geonosis was big, too big to hide effectively. That requires a lot of resources, workers, security…even if nothing was written down, which I doubt, these resources would be missing somewhere else.”

“We’ve tried following the paper trail but nothing seems amiss”, she replied and he should’ve considered that the rebellion would have tried this route of action already. 

He considered for a moment, then he said, “A project of this size would still need personnel. A lot of personnel if, whatever it is, is big enough to need an entire planet to build it. And everyone involved would need a security clearance, even people who usually would not need one.”

“We’ll see if we can get someone with access to personnel files”, she said. “What do you think they were building?” 

“Another ship maybe or a weapon”, Kallus replied. “The Geonosians built most weapons the CIS used during the Clone Wars. A lot of them would make the Senate openly rebel against the Emperor.”

Hera nodded. They had both made it through the Clone Wars alive and didn’t need to remind each other of the atrocities that had been committed by the CIS. “One other thing”, she added just when he was ready to be dismissed. “General Draven asked if you won’t reconsider joining the Rebel Intelligence operations.”

“I would prefer staying with your crew but if that’s not possible then I will accept General Draven’s offer”, Kallus replied. He hoped his phrasing was vague enough not to be seen as emotional blackmail. He didn’t want to join Intelligence but he also didn’t want to make it look like he was ungrateful to be here. It was just that he was certain that if he worked as a spy for the Rebellion he would sooner or later be just as disillusioned with them as he was with the Empire. 

“I’ve got no reason to want you off my crew”, Hera said. “But I thought I should let you know that the offer is still open.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“And Kallus?”

“Yes?”

“Call me Hera.”

“Thank you, Hera.”

/

Saw met with the Ghost near a moon a day and a half of hyperspace flight away from Geonosis. He brought a small ship that was easily attached to the Ghost and an even smaller crew. Only two people accompanied him, a tognath and a Lasat.

As introductions were being made, Zeb noticed that Kallus had retreated to the shadowiest corner of the room. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the Lasat was the same mercenary Kallus had talked about on Bahryn. And it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Kallus didn’t want to jeopardise his standing with the Rebellion by antagonising Saw. 

“Captain Orrelios”, Nakamos said as he joined Zeb once introductions had been made and the mission had been laid out. He offered a respectful greeting. “Up until today I thought your survival was a hoax. But then I guess if anyone of the Honour Guard survived if would be you.”

It was only natural that Nakamos wanted to talk about Lasan. Two years ago Zeb would’ve brushed him off not wanting to talk about his failure. But finding Lirasan had greatly helped him to come to terms with his feelings about the genocide and his own survival.

“I couldn’t protect Lasan but I can avenge it”, Zeb replied. That summed up about half the reasons why he was fighting with the rebellion. The rest were too complicated to explain quickly.

Nakamos nodded. “You and me both. Though I left Lasan before the massacre. I believe I have a few more dead imperials under my belt than you.” He smirked as if killing defenceless soldiers was something to be proud of.

“You had a head start”, Zeb replied, trying to sound as if he didn’t mind Nakamos’ bragging and if it hadn’t been for Kallus he probably wouldn’t have. “Heard there’s a lot of fighting on Onderon.”

“There is”, Nakamos confirmed. “Since the Clone Wars. Saw went from fighting the Confederation to fighting the Empire. It‘s what makes him such a capable leader. He saw through the Empire’s deception from the start. The only other groups that didn’t let themselves rest were the Twi’leks from Ryloth but they’re only interested in their own planet. They do not see the bigger picture.”

“Considering that the Empire let’s slavers operate on Ryloth that’s understandable”, Zeb argued. Before Lirasan he would’ve ended this discussion already. He had liked to play the fool in order to shirk responsibility. If he didn’t have any, he couldn’t disappoint anyone like he had done on Lasan.

Now though he enjoyed working within his old role again instead of just being the guy who did the heavy lifting. 

Nakamos swiped Zeb’s argument of slavers away with his hand. “If they joined the fight the Empire would crumble sooner. You cannot make a fire without burning wood.”

Zeb raised his eyebrows. Slavery had never been a part of Lasat culture which explained Nakamos’ nonchalant attitude. 

“At least they’re openly rebelling against the Empire which is more than can be said for most others”, Nakamos added as he noticed the expression on Zeb’s face. “And Commander Syndulla certainly sees the bigger picture.” There was a note of admiration in Nakamos’ voice that Zeb understood only too well.

“Hera’s the best”, he agreed.

“Though I am surprised to see so many imperials amongst her crew”, Nakamos said, looking around. “Turncoats are of questionable loyalty by nature. Though to be fair Mandalorians have never been loyal to anyone but their own.”

“Sabine’s proven her loyalty”, Zeb said, keeping himself from baring his teeth.

Nakamos conceded his point with a tilt of his head. “You know her better than I do obviously. I was just pointing out that on Onderon, we would have only spared her and the pilot boy because of their youth. We all make mistakes when we’re young and impressionable. But your man...Kallus, wasn’t it? Hardly worth the laser blast between his eyes.”

Zeb knew Nakamos was just trying to get under his skin even if his disdain for Imperials was not faked. Zeb had been there too. He held back the instinctual, protective growl and replied coldly, “As you said you don’t know them as well as I do. They’re on this crew for a reason.”

“Fair enough, Captain”, Nakamos smiled. “Maybe I should try to get to know them better as well if they’re worth the esteem of the Honour Guard.”

/

Kallus had recognized the Lasat immediately. He was not as monstrous as Kallus’ memory had shaped him to be, exaggerating it with each passing year. Instead Nakamos didn’t look that much different from Zeb. Maybe a little taller, maybe a few more scars and a different hairstyle but nowhere near the beast that had hunted him through his nightmares.

Kallus hadn’t said anything. Nakamos was a member of Gerrera’s group and this alliance was fragile enough as it was. The mission was only meant to last a few days and he had promised Hera he could work with Gerrera. There was no need to sabotage his standing with the Rebellion over something that had happened more than ten years ago.

For a moment he had hoped that Nakamos wouldn’t recognize him. Why would he? He had undoubtly killed hundreds if not thousands of Imperial soldiers. But then Nakamos had caught his eyes from across the room during the mission briefing and his smirk had let Kallus know that Nakamos knew exactly who he was. Kallus had felt the scars on his face ache but had refused to touch them, knowing it was only phantom pain and would let Nakamos see how much his presence affected Kallus.

Zeb seemed to enjoy having another Lasat around, reminding Kallus that he was part of the reason why. He ached for his bo-rifle just so he had a weapon and a reminder of one of the few times in his previous life when he had behaved with honour instead of blindly following the Empire.

In the past year or so his nightmares had shifted from Onderon to Thrawn and sometimes to the massacre of the Lasat, usually involving Zeb. Back when they had started he had been puzzled why he would suddenly have nightmares about killing a rebel, their temporary alliance notwithstanding, but hindsight was always perfect.

Since Hera had talked with him about Gerrera though the nightmares about Onderon had returned viciously. Jerking awake from Nakamos going around killing his friends until he reached Kallus, until he was standing right over him, smirking, the last thing Kallus needed to see waking up was another Lasat just as close to him as Nakamos had been in his nightmare. His heart was racing in his chest and the scars on his face ached with long gone pain as all his instincts were screaming at him to get out.

He clamped down on them for long enough to slip out under Zeb’s arm and out of bed. When Zeb stirred in his sleep Kallus rested a hand on his arm and said, “Go back to sleep.”

As soon as the door closed behind him and he was standing in the bright light of the Ghost’s corridor, Kallus was starting to feel stupid. He was a grown man, a soldier, a nightmare...a memory shouldn’t be enough to make him run from his bed in only his underwear.

His heartbeat and his breathing were slowing down and in the cool air his sweat-soaked skin made him shiver. Still he was reluctant to turn back. Zeb would surely wake up if he came back now and he’d probably ask questions. Kallus wasn’t sure if Zeb even remembered what Kallus had told him about Nakamos on Bahryn or if he believed it. 

He decided to make a visit at the kitchen. A cup of tea would calm his nerves and with a bit of luck he would pass Wedge before his shift started and could convince him let Kallus take it for him. Work had always been the best distraction for him.

“I didn’t catch your name.”

Kallus couldn’t help but startled when he suddenly heard Nakamos’ voice behind him. He turned around to face him before he said, “It’s Kallus.”

“No first name?”

“None of your business.”

“How rude”, Nakamos was right in front of him, smirking. 

Every single of Kallus’ instincts told him to flee, to get away as quickly as possible. He took a step back and realized his mistake immediately. The hallway made a turn here and he had just backed himself in a corner.

Nakamos’ smirk widened as he stepped closer and rested his hand on the wall on either side of Kallus’ head, trapping him. “But even rude Imperials have their uses.” Leaning on his elbow Nakamos used his free hand to touch the side of Kallus’ face right where one of the scars was.  
Kallus jerked his head away. “Leave me alone.” But he couldn’t hide his fear when his voice cracked on the last word.

Nakamos leaned in until he was so close that Kallus could feel his breath on his skin just like on Onderon. “You never figured out why I left you alive, did you?” His grin widened. “As the least injured you would’ve been the easiest to patch up before selling you on the slave market on Zygerria. Rebellions aren’t cheap. As for these- “he grabbed Kallus’ face his thumbs resting right over the scars on each side that were covered by his beard”- Every slaver has their mark. Too bad the Empire arrived too early.” Nakamos gave Kallus an appraising look. “You’d still fetch a decent price but I think I’d rather keep you. It’s not every day you find a slave that’s familiar with Lasat.” His tone left no doubt as to what he meant.

“Oh…ah…sorry…I didn’t mean to interrupt”, came another voice from the end of the hallway. It was Wedge who had been stuck with the night shift. He looked embarrassed to have caught Kallus in what looked like an intimate situation mixed with open disappointment when he realized that the Lasat cupping Kallus’ face wasn’t Zeb.

“No need for apologies”, Nakamos said and finally let go of Kallus. “I was merely trying to get to know Kallus a little better.” He smirked at Kallus before he left and Kallus knew that this wasn’t over yet.

Wedge walked past him without another look or word. Kallus’ knees felt so weak that he needed a few moments before he could walk again. With trembling steps he made it to the kitchen which was empty safe for Wedge.

“I’m not going to tell Zeb if that’s what you’re worried about”, Wedge said without looking up from his caf.

Kallus knew he should say something instead of letting Wedge believe that he was cheating on Zeb. Instead he sat down heavily and rested his head in his hands. “I appreciate that”, he managed to get out despite knowing it was the wrong thing to say. He didn’t have the energy for more. He needed to get away, needed to breathe, to sleep, to – 

“Fulcrum?” Wedge’s voice tore him from his thoughts spiralling into an abyss. Only Wedge still called him by that name.

“I’m fine”, Kallus said, ashamed of showing his weakness so openly.

Wedge gave him a sceptical look. 

“It’s nothing.”

“If you’re crying over nothing I’m even more worried.”

“I’m not crying. You don’t have to worry about me, Lieutenant”, Kallus’ said firmly. “I’m fine.”

Wedge gave him another sceptical look but thankfully he let the topic slide.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this was written before the last rebels episode aired, hence why Saw is a lo more antagonistic towards Sabine than he is in the show

They had timed their arrival on Geonosis to avoid the Imperial patrol and their intelligence held true. The plan was to take the Phantom down into the tunnels to avoid detection while Hera and Wedge would stay on the Ghost with Saw’s ship as an emergency backup one system over.

Zeb was glad that he wasn’t their crew’s designated pilot. Sitting around and waiting had never been one of his strengths.

Edrio, the tognath, was piloting the Spectre through Geonosis’ atmosphere when Ezra asked, “Do you think we’ll meet Klik-Klak again?”

“Bug better stays hidden if it knows what’s good for it”, Saw replied.

Kallus, who had barely spoken a word this morning, looked up a clear question on his face. 

“Klik-Klak is a Geonosian we met last time”, Ezra explained when he caught Kallus’ expression. “He was protecting a Queen’s egg to save his species.”

“He killed my men”, Saw said with disdain.

“If it crosses our way we’ll kill it”, Edrio added.

“We’ve had this discussion last time and other than the Empire the Alliance does not commit genocide”, Kanan said with what Zeb had privately dubbed his ‘Jedi voice’.

“True words, my friend”, Saw said and looked from Edrio and Nakamos to Sabine and Kallus, “We are not Imperials.”

Sabine met Saw’s eyes without hesitation but Kallus was staring out of the window as if he had lost interest in the conversation once Ezra had explained who Klik-Klak was. Feigning indifference was not going to keep Saw off his back, Zeb thought. Saw would see it as an admission that Kallus hadn’t changed his ways.

This time they were landing in the tunnels near one of the old production facilities the Geonosians had used during the Clone Wars. It made sense that the Empire would use pre-existing structures instead of making them up from scratch. Most of the buildings on the surface had been razed but destroying the tunnels would’ve been too much effort and so they remained largely intact.

“You’re okay?” Zeb asking, having caught Kallus alone for a moment.

“I’m fine”, Kallus replied but the tension in his body belied his words.

“You didn’t come back last night”, he knew that outright asking Kallus what was wrong would lead nowhere.

“I couldn’t sleep so I switched shifts with Wedge”, Kallus explained. “I didn’t mean for you to worry.”

It was not what Zeb had asked but it was probably he would get out of Kallus at this point.

“What is this place?” Ezra asked, holding up his torch. The room was so big that the light eventually got lost in the darkness.

“This was the production floor of the biggest weapons factory of the confederation”, Saw answered. “The Republic tried to close it down but Geonosis proved to be unconquerable.”

“Until the Empire”, Sabine added, looking around. She shivered slightly. “How do you kill an entire planet? Someone would’ve escaped.”

“Someone did escape”, Ezra pointed out but at the same time, Edrio spoke over him.

“Why don’t you tell us, Imperial?”

“We’re all on the same side here”, Kanan reminded them sharply. “Let’s split up. Everyone takes a corner of the floor and starts searching.”

“I’ll keep an eye on the Imperials”, Nakamos said with a look at Sabine and Kallus.

Zeb was about to protest but Kanan already accepted his suggestion. “Fine, Ezra you and Zeb will accompany Saw. Edrio and I will make camp.”

Kallus accepted the assignment without a word and an expressionless face. Zeb had seen him look more alive when he had been unconscious. But it would look stupid if he protested against the groupings if no one else did.

“I am surprised that you work with Imperials”, Saw said as he joined Zeb and Ezra. “Given what the Empire did to your planet.”

“Everyone deserves a chance at redemption”, Zeb replied in a tone that made clear he was not discussing this topic now. And to Saw’s credit he did let it slide with a scoff.

“I say we go in this direction”, Ezra said and pointed into the darkness. Saw threw Zeb a look but he returned it with a shrug. The direction Ezra was pointing at was as good as any.

They had to walk quite a bit across the empty production floor until they hit a wall. A wall lined with doors that looked like they were leading to storage rooms or something similar. Without electricity it would be hard to open them.

“Great”, Zeb muttered. “There’s nothing here. Let’s see if we can find something one level up.”

But Ezra didn’t listen him to him. Instead he was walking towards the closest door with an intent expression on his face. An expression that had never once heralded something good happening.

“Wait”, Ezra said and stepped forward. He closed his eyes and reached forward. The doors groaned as if under heavy pressure and slowly began to open. 

“I think I can see something”, Zeb said and pushed past Ezra and through the opening. Something cracked under his feet, something hard. He fumbled for his torch but dropped it before he could switch it on. “Karabast”, he cursed.

“Zeb? What is it?” Ezra asked from the other side.

As Zeb blindly searched for his torch his hands brushed something hard and smooth that was definitely not a stone. With a sinking feeling in his stomach Zeb picked up his torch and switched it on.

The room was big enough that the light barely reached the wall on the opposite side but it was lower than the production floor. Just below the ceiling were slits for air flow and the ground was covered in bones.

“Karabast”, Zeb yelled, loud enough to alarm Saw and Ezra.

“Zeb! What’s going on?” Ezra asked.

“What did you find?” He heard Saw say.

Not wanting to step on anymore bones Zeb climbed back out. “I found the workers”, he told them and shone his torch through the opening in the doors.

Ezra gasped in horror while Saw looked grimly satisfied as if he had expected something like this but had wished to be proven wrong.

“Do you think the other rooms are the same?” Ezra asked, pointing at the wall which was lined with doors identical to the ones they had just opened, probably with identical rooms behind them.

Zeb and Saw exchanged a look before Zeb said, “A factory this size needs more workers than you could fit into one room.”

“I’ll tell the others”, Saw said and contacted Edrio and Nakamos over comlink. No one had gotten very far into their search yet and it didn’t take long for the others to appear.

“These are not Geonosian”, Kanan said. “Geonosian bodies don’t have bones.”

“No”, Nakamos confirmed, picking up two different skulls. “This one’s humanoid but that one? It’s Trandoshan. The Empire didn’t discriminate with their disposable workforce.”

“But so many people”, Ezra looked down the wall again with all those unopened doors, unopened mass graves, “They can’t just disappear. Someone would’ve noticed.”

“Not if they were slaves”, Kallus said. Everyone turned towards him. 

“But...that many?” Sabine asked.

“Late into the Clone Wars slavers operated even on core worlds”, Kallus replied. “Slaves would’ve been the ideal workforce for a secret project since they wouldn’t be missed.”

“You wouldn’t even use your own people for this, would you, Imperial?” Edrio snarled in Kallus’ direction. 

“As Ezra pointed out, someone would’ve missed them if they had been Imperial citizens”, Kanan cut in. “I think Kallus is right.”

“We didn’t come here to find out what happened to the workers”, Saw added, “We came here to find out what they were building. We should continue our search.”

/

Finding the remains of the workers had been another depressing confirmation how far Kallus had let himself be wilfully blinded by the Empire’s propaganda. Sabine’s expression indicated that she held similar thoughts except that she had discovered the truth a lot sooner. She and Wedge.

It had been Wedge’s desperate attempt to contact the Rebellion that had pushed him over the edge. It had been pure luck that he had intercepted the message instead of another ISB agent. 

According to his file Wedge had been a cargo pilot on Corellia before the Empire had recruited him. 

According to his message Wedge hadn’t known what had signed up for.

Kallus had been seventeen too when he had enlisted in the Royal Academy on Coruscant, right at the end of the Clone Wars. He had thought he had known what he had signed up for. At the time he had seen the Empire as the entity that had put an end to the war, to the random terrorist attacks even on so called peaceful worlds from poison gas on Chandrila to bombs on Coruscant. 

In the end he and Wedge had had the same epiphany about the Empire only Wedge had been quicker to realize the truth.

If he had had reported him, Wedge and the other two would’ve been arrested and probably executed.

If he had had done nothing, Wedge would’ve undoubtly made another attempt to contact the rebellion or maybe even defected on his own.

Telling the Rebellion about Wedge and his friends had looked like the only way to keep this desperate, frightened boy alive, unless of course they would’ve been caught. But Kallus had been defeated by the Ghost crew often enough to trust their competency.

“They could have used droids”, Sabine’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. “The Empire had control of the CIS droid factories. They could’ve used them.”

“Droids can’t think, people can”, Nakamos replied. He was walking a little too close to Kallus for his comfort but he was resolved not let Nakamos get under his skin again.

“We should search the offices”, Kallus suggested, looking up. Despite the situation he felt in his element. This was what he had been trained for, what he was good at.

“Wouldn’t those have been cleaned thoroughly?” Sabined asked sceptically.

“In my experience something is always overlooked.”

“In your experience”, Nakamos said mockingly but he followed Kallus upstairs nonetheless.

“As paranoid as the Empire is, they wouldn’t have set up a holo-network, net even an isolated one. The internal communication would’ve relied on datachips and flimsi.”

“Flimsi?” Sabine echoed. “No one uses flimsi anymore.”

“Other than data chips flimsi can be eaten without any adverse effects among other advantages.” When he noticed that they were both staring at him, he asked, “What?”

“You’ve eaten flimsi?” Sabine asked flatly.

“One of my many horrifying deeds in the name of the Empire.” 

Sabine giggled and for a moment everything felt okay. Until Nakamos stepped a little closer and said, “That was probably not the biggest thing you’ve ever swallowed.”

With Nakamos’ threats from last night fresh in mind a nauseous shiver ran down Kallus’ spine but he refused to move away first. “Do you think you can get the consoles running?” He asked Sabine.

“Shouldn’t be a problem”, she replied, giving them a strange look but if she had heard Nakamos’ comment, she wasn’t saying anything. 

Kallus did step away to walk into the next room. The front offices had windows towards the production floor but the more senior officers wouldn’t have worked from there. Maybe going into a small room with only one escape route was not a smart idea but he refused to let Nakamos keep him from his work. He had spied for the Alliance for a year right under Thrawn’s nose. He wouldn’t let a ghost from his past throw him off balance now.

The back offices were disappointingly empty. The empire had done good work on the clean up, except for the furniture which had been left behind. Kallus had an idea and crouched down in front of a desk and laid his hand against the floor. The ground was uneven. He leaned further down. The desk in front of him was clean but he spotted a piece of flimsi folded up and wedged under another one. He walked over and grabbed it. 

As he unfolded it, Kallus could see that it had been printed on. It was a flight schedule, listing sixteen different planets, most of which he had never heard of and those he had only in passing. Then he heard steps behind him and knew who to expect. 

“Isn’t it irony that the Empire saved you from being sold to the Empire?” If Nakamos thought the same tactic would work twice on him, then Kallus would show him how wrong he was. This time he wasn’t on the tail end of a nightmare. He refused to budge a single step. “I don’t think anyone else ever slipped through my fingers.”

“Back off”, Kallus said, looking him in the eyes when Nakamos was too close for his comfort.

“And what if I don’t?” Nakamos ignored him, cupping Kallus’ face with one hand; claws extended just enough to graze his skin. “What will you do then, Imperial? Who’d believe you?”

He was leaning in when Kallus called Sabine’s name loud and clear. “Did you find anything?”

They heard steps and just like Kallus had predicted Nakamos backed off a little. He wouldn’t let the situation escalate, at least not yet. “Leave me alone”, Kallus said quietly as he walked past Nakamos to meet Sabine halfway.

“I’ve looked at the consoles but they were all wiped clean.” She sounded more resigned than disappointed. “Did you find anything?”

“Someone folded a flimsi sheet and pushed it under their desk to keep it even”, Kallus said and gave her the sheet. 

Sabine looked it over. “That’s a flight schedule. Jedhaa, Eadu, Patriim, Horuz, Utapau, Corulag, Dantoiine, Adalog, Zemiah’s Den, Bamayar, Ilum, Hypori, Riosa….Do these mean anything to you?“

“I know some of them but I can’t see the connection, “Kallus said as he shook his head and from the corner of his eyes he could see that Nakamos did, too. 

“Well, at least it’s something”, she said. 

“And more useful than rooms full of rotten bones”, Nakamos added.

Sabine glared at him. “Those were people once.”

“I apologise”, Nakamos said. “The Empire did the same to my people.”

Her eyes flickered to Kallus for a moment before she said, “We should go back to the others, tell them about this.” She went out ahead, the list firmly in her hand. 

Kallus followed her but shortly before the door he was suddenly pushed face first against the wall, arms twisted behind by back by Nakamos. He struggled but Nakamos was too strong for him. 

“I am curious why Captain Orrelios would hold you in such high esteem”, Nakamos said as he pressed his body against Kallus’ back. “You must be quite something.”

“Fuck off. You don’t know anything about me.” Kallus said with more confidence than he felt. He balled his hands into fists, fingernails biting into his palm as his heartbeat picked up with the rising feeling of panic.

“I know that outside the Empire you are of no use for the rebellion. But we are, we get them results”, Nakamos whispered into his ear. “You were mine since Onderon. It just took a little longer than usual.” 

Kallus could feel Nakamos lean in, could feel him sniffing his hair like Zeb often did after training. “Leave. Me. Alone.”

“Not many humans can take a Lasat”, Nakamos was so close his breath was grazing Kallus’ cheek. 

Remember your training, Kallus thought as he could feel fear wrapping around his chest like a coil, its chilling hand gripping his throat. The angle was awkward but Kallus managed to step on Nakamos’ foot with enough strength that he loosened his grip in surprise.

He caught up with Sabine before she had reached the end of the stairs back to the production floor.

/

They informed Hera of the list and the rooms filled with bones but decided to stay on Geonosis for the agreed amount of time. The factory was huge and maybe there was more that could be found. They debated the planets on the flight schedule over dinner but couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to it. 

Kallus had volunteered for the first watch. He didn’t think he could sleep just yet and had a feeling that Zeb would want to talk. They probably should talk but Kallus would rather post-pone it until after the mission as over.

He had taken one of the radios from the Phantom and re-routed the sensor alarms to his holopad as he sat near the fire. The Imperial control was supposed to pass by Geonosis in an hour but they shouldn’t be able to detect them down here.

Someone was approaching and Kallus recognised the characteristically heavy step of a Lasat. Grabbing the knife from his boot he prepared to attack. He had given Nakamos the upper hand twice now he wouldn’t let him have it again. “I told you to leave me alone”, he growled, raising his arm holding the knife to the height where Nakamos’ neck would be. Except that it wasn’t Nakamos, it was Zeb.

“Not the one you were expecting I hope.”

“What are you doing here?” Kallus asked, lowering the knife.

“Checking if you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.” Maybe if he said it often enough it would become the truth.

“Sure, that’s why you’re attacking me with a knife in the middle of the night.”

“This planet is keeping me on edge. I’m sorry about it.” He had made it through a year of Thrawn breathing down his neck but two days on the same ship as Gerrera’s people and he was losing his nerve despite his assurances to Hera. He was a disgrace.

“Sure, it’s the planet”, Zeb said plainly not believing a word Kallus was saying.

“What do you want to hear from me?”

“The truth?”

“The truth is that I’m not comfortable around the guy who executed my men when they didn’t pose a threat to him anymore.” It was close enough to the truth that wasn’t a lie.

“He can’t change the past. Neither can you.”

“Yes maybe you shouldn’t be comfortable around me either. I killed your people on Lasan. Not just the honour guard. I killed others as well. And I felt justified. You shouldn’t be anywhere near me.” As soon as the words left his mouth Kallus wished he could take them back.

“No, maybe I shouldn’t be.” There was disappointment in Zeb’s tone but also resignation, as if he had never truly thought this could work. It was in his expression, too. Maybe the past was harder to leave behind than either of them had thought. It was something they should’ve talked about before they had decided to be together, before their mutual attraction had overwhelmed the potential for disaster.

“I’m sorry”, Kallus said as if those few, ineffectual words could salvage anything from the situation.

“Yeah,” Zeb said over his shoulder, “me, too.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for violence and upsetting language because the genocide perpetrated by insecticide gas is a very, very obvious parallel

Zeb had gone to bed down in the Phantom as far away from Kallus as possible. But he couldn’t escape his thoughts quite so easily. The reminder of Kallus’ role in the genocide of his people had been had been like a slap to the face. It wasn’t that Zeb didn’t remember what Kallus had done but ever since the discovery of Lirasan he had tried to leave the past behind. It had allowed him to come to terms with the guilt he had felt for surviving, for not doing his duty and protecting his people to the last. It had allowed him to become Captain Orrelios again, to take up new responsibilities instead of shirking them by putting on the mask of a fool to avoid failing anyone ever again. But it seemed the past wasn’t keen on being left behind, by him or Kallus.

Maybe he should’ve told Kallus that he hadn’t forgotten or forgiven him for Lasan but that Kallus’ attempt at redemption was enough to make Zeb willing to try and work things out between them. 

Zeb thought of the expression on Kallus’ face when he had left, the sheer resigned acceptance. He probably thought Zeb had just broken up with him. He should go and clear that up sooner rather than later. There was only an hour or so of Kallus’ watch left until Ezra would take over. They could talk then. It wasn’t the best idea to do this with Saw and especially Nakamos within hearing distance but they had let the past fester between them for long enough. He and Kallus hadn’t talked about Lasan and they hadn’t talked about Onderon either. Zeb had thought it would be easier to leave their baggage in the past but he should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.

So far Zeb had thought that Kallus had done a good job of working with Saw and his men, even Nakamos. Except that pulling a knife on someone unprovoked was out of character for him, after having spent a year undercover with Thrawn breathing down his neck. Something else was going on. Zeb doubted that it was only Nakamos’ or Saw’s presence that had Kallus so on edge. After all everyone on the Ghost, save for Wedge, had tried to kill Kallus at one point or another.

The minutes ticked by slowly. Finally Zeb got up and left the Phantom. Kanan was asleep in the cockpit, Sabine had won the only bunk of the Phantom, so Ezra was resting against a crate and Saw and his men were all sleeping outside. 

Zeb kicked Ezra lightly against the shin. “Wake up, kid.”

Ezra made an unwilling noise but otherwise didn’t stir, so Zeb kicked him again, a little harder this time. “It’s your shift.”

“You’re not Kallus”, Ezra said, cracking half an eye open, “I’ve got until he wakes me.”

“Get up”, Zeb repeated. Ezra did, if only under protest, until Sabine shot him a dirty look which made him shut up. The factory was quiet, only the cackling fire made some noise. The Imperial patrol should’ve passed them by now and since there hadn’t been any alarm, that likely meant they hadn’t been detected.

Kallus was nowhere to be seen.

The place next to the fire where Zeb had last spoken to him was empty but his holopad lay in the dirt as if he had suddenly dropped it. 

“Where is he?” Ezra asked and picked up the holopad. The rerouted orbital scanner from the Phantom showed clear skies over Geonosis. The Imperial patrol had passed them, so that couldn’t be it. Maybe Kallus had left to clear his head, but no, he wouldn’t have abandoned his post without telling anyone.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Zeb looked over to where Saw and his men had made their camp for the night. 

Nakamos was missing too.

“Ezra, go and wake up Sabine and Kanan”, Zeb said quietly. Now that the thought had occurred to him, he felt like a fool for not realising it sooner.

“Why, what’s happening? Where is Kallus?” Ezra asked but Zeb elbowed him in side. 

“Just do as I say.” Something in his tone had to have changed because Ezra followed his orders without any further protest. As soon as he was around the Phantom, Zeb called Saw’s name. Their camp was easily within hearing distance and neither him, nor Kallus had been quiet during their argument.

“What can I do for you?” Saw asked, sitting up. Next to him, Edrio muttered something that Zeb couldn’t understand but was undoubtly rude.

“Where is Nakamos?”

Saw shrugged. “How should I know?”

Ezra came back with Sabine and Kanan in tow. “What is it, Zeb?” Kanan asked.

“Kallus is missing.”

Saw scoffed. “Are you sure he isn’t telling the Empire where we are right now?”

Zeb ignored him. “Nakamos is missing too.”

“Do you think something happened?” Sabine asked.

Zeb turned to Saw. “Do you want to tell them or should I?”

Saw met his eyes without the slightest hesitation. “Tell them what?”

“That Nakamos is executing wounded Imperial soldiers for you. When we were on Bahryn Kallus told me about his first unit being killed when they were down by a Lasat mercenary while they were on Onderon.”

“And you think Nakamos recognized your pet Imperial after such long time?” Edrio scoffed.

“Even if not Kallus and I had an argument earlier about his involvement in the genocide on Lasan. If Nakamos over heard us he’d have a good reason to finish what he started on Onderon.”

“That sounds as if you should’ve finished his job a long time ago” Saw said. “Or do you value your own people so little?”

“You don’t know bantha shit about me”, Zeb growled.

“Are you saying it’s true?” Kanan asked, “You’re killing defenceless soldiers?”

“What if? They’re only Imperials.”

“They’re people”, Sabine sounded appalled. 

“They’re Imperials the Empire would’ve sent right back once they were healed. I’m doing us and them a favour.”

“I don’t care”, Zeb interrupted them. They could discuss this later, now he had to find Kallus if it wasn’t already too late. “Where is Nakamos?”

/

Kallus’ head hurt when he woke up. The last thing he remembered was Zeb’s face, the resigned expression on his face and then nothing. He wasn’t near the fire anymore either, instead the room was bathed in light by a torch, the room full of bones they had found earlier.

“I was almost certain you wouldn’t wake up again”, came Nakamos’ voice from above him. 

“What are you doing? Do you think my team won’t notice I’m missing?” Kallus’ eyes flickered towards the way to the exit, blocked by Nakamos body.

“I don’t care.” There was a change in Nakamos’ tone compared to earlier. He was angry, Kallus realised as he looked up at him, furious even. “I overheard you and Captain Orrelios.”

Kallus pressed his lips together as he realised what was happening and how he had put himself into this situation with his carelessness. Whatever Nakamos had seen in him earlier, whatever had intrigued him about Kallus, was nothing compared to the Lasat genocide.

“If the Empire hadn’t come, you would’ve ended up here too”, Nakamos lifted him up by the front of his shirt. “And you wouldn’t have been able to slaughter my people. I’m just finishing their job.”

Kallus was thrown across the room and landed hard on his back. He felt bones breaking underneath him. He wished he had something to defend himself with but there was nothing he could say. Except...”You killed my people, too.”

“Imperials”, Nakamos scoffed. He took a swipe at Kallus, claws extended but Kallus managed to get out of range quickly enough that the scratches were only superficial. “You are worthless. You are the enemy.”

He didn’t have a weapon and unlike Nakamos, Kallus also didn’t have claws. All he could do was to keep out of the way of Nakamos’ attacks and hope that either the others had noticed his absence or that Nakamos would make a mistake that would allow him to escape. He was aware that strength and stamina were on Nakamos’ side, not his.

“You sound like the Empire”, Kallus replied, keeping an eye on Nakamos’ stance to predict his next attack. “That’s what they told us, too before we deployed for Lasan. That they were the enemy. That they were worthless.”

His words had hit a nerve. Nakamos came at him with a roar and Kallus jumped. He had misjudged his landing though, his foot slipping on a bone and he hit the ground. Nakamos followed suit and his claws sliced Kallus’ back open before he scrambled out of the way.

Kallus was no stranger to pain but this was a handicap that would cost him his life if the others didn’t find him quickly. Nakamos knew it too. “Give up, Imperial. You’re going to die in here like you were meant to.”

He had one small chance left. Once he was outside of this room it’d be easier to alert the others. Kallus fell down to one knee, his hands on the ground, supporting him and he lowered his head. The very image of defeat. Nakamos came close and Kallus took his window of opportunity. He threw a handful of dirt and bones into Nakamos’ eyes, dodged under his flailing arms and ran towards the doors. 

Less than an arm’s length away from the exit Nakamos leapt on him, bringing him back down to the ground. This time it wasn’t just the bones of the dead that were breaking. But the pain was overcast by the pain from his back as he was flipped onto it. Nakamos straddled him, one hand wrapped around his throat, the other keeping his unbroken arm fixed to the ground. “If I had my way you would’ve died here, gassed to death like the scum that you are.”

Kallus tried to buck to throw Nakamos off of him but of course he was no match for a Lasat. Bone splinters and dirt was digging into the wounds on his back and Nakamos’ grip on his throat cut off his air. He reached up with his injured arm but he couldn’t to more than ineffectually swat at Nakamos.

“I am disappointed in Captain Orrelios. I would’ve thought he had enough integrity left to crush your skull like you deserve.” Nakamos let go of Kallus’ arm to press his hand against Kallus’ face with the claws still extended. “You must be quite the lay if the captain’s willing to leave you alive despite knowing what you did. But I’m not going to sink to his level to find out.”

Kallus reached up blindly, grabbing whatever part of Nakamos he could reach and pulled hard but he knew it wasn’t going to be enough. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, the pressure on his throat and skull mounting, it would be over now, any moment Nakamos would kill him.

/

It had been Sabine’s idea to check the mass grave they had found earlier after Edrio had finally admitted to seeing Nakamos’ leave in the same direction the room was. When Zeb saw them after Kanan had pushed the doors wide open, Nakamos kneeling over Kallus, hands wrapped around his head and throat, he had thought it was too late.

“Get away from him”, he roared, ears laid back and teeth bared but he didn’t dare to attack Nakamos when he could kill Kallus any second. Next to him Kanan and Ezra activated their light sabers and Sabine had her blaster ready but so did Edrio and Saw. They had formed a semi-circle around the two, with Sabine, Ezra and Kanan to his left and Edrio and Saw to his right.

Nakamos looked up at him, his face a mask of unbridled fury. “I’m doing what you should’ve done the moment you had the chance to.”

“I said let him go.” He had been here before, confronting an enemy over the life of someone he had sworn to protect. Except last time the Empire had been the enemy and it had been Lasans he had tried to save.

“You are a disgrace to our people”, Nakamos yelled. “I bet you betrayed us before the massacre. I bet you helped him, helped the Empire.”

“Don’t you fucking – “Zeb was ready to attack Nakamos but Kanan’s hand on his arm stopped him. 

“We know what Kallus did”, Kanan said, his voice even and commanding. “Good and bad. Everyone deserves a chance of redemption.”

“Not for this”, Nakamos growled.

“You heard him”, Saw said. “This Imperial deserves to die. He was complicit in a genocide. He was complicit in the Empire’s crimes. Are you so blind that you cannot see him for the monster he is? Will you let your feelings get in the way of justice?” For his last words, Saw looked directly at Zeb.

“This is not justice. It’s revenge.” Zeb took a cue from Kanan, his posture changed and his voice evened out. “You weren’t on Lasan, I was. I saw our people get slaughtered. I saw the Empire use the disruptors on us. All while you were executing injured soldiers. You aren’t any better than the Empire.” Once upon a time Zeb had used this tone to shame Honour Guard recruits into better behaviour. It worked like a charm.

Nakamos let go of Kallus with a roar, leaping towards Zeb but he stopped dead-short when Sabine fired a warning shot. It hit the wall behind Saw, the blaster bolt eating through the clay-like substance, followed by the sound of air leaking through a small hole.

“What have you done, you stupid girl?” Edrio yelled but it was too late. The same gas that the Empire had used to kill the workers was flooding the room again. All thoughts of their conflict was forgotten as they ran for their lives. Zeb pushed past Nakamos and slung Kallus’ body over his shoulder before he turned and ran. He could see Sabine up ahead.

“Ezra”, he heard Kanan yell somewhere behind him followed by a deafening sound as even more of the walls were ripped away and the rubble closed off this part of the factory floor like the tomb it already was.

No one stopped running until they had reached the Phantom. Saw was coughing heavily, his arm over Edrio’s shoulders, who was supporting him. He had been the closest to the gas leak and had probably gotten hit the worst by it.

“I’ll radio Hera”, Kanan said, already entering the Phantom. “Ezra, get the first aid kit.”

Sabine stood between Saw’s group and Zeb when Nakamos turned in his direction, glaring but doing nothing else. Getting medical attention for Saw held priority for him. Kallus was still unconscious and bleeding badly from the wounds on his back.

“All...of...this...for an….Imperial”, Saw wheezed between bouts of coughing.

“I’ve the first aid kit”, Ezra said as he came back out. “And Kanan’s reached Hera. She’s going to be here within the hour.”

“We don’t have an hour”, Edrio snarled. Listening to Saw he was probably right. Whatever gas the Empire had used on Geonosis it was nasty and eating more and more through the tissue of Saw’s lungs with each passing second.

“Take the Phantom”, Kanan said. “She has a hyperdrive. We can change our ships back later.”

It was an acceptable bargain to Edrio and he and Nakamos helped Saw into the ship. Nakamos glared at Zeb when he passed him but nothing else happened. The fight, for now, was over and Zeb sincerely hoped that they weren’t going to meet again.

That he was not dead was perhaps the greatest surprise of it all, Kallus thought as he tried not to flinch when Zeb applied the bacta to the wounds on his back. His head still hurt despite the painkillers Hera had given him and his throat was sore and made speaking difficult. Still, given how the situation had turned out his team deserved an apology, especially Hera, considering what he had promised her.

“I am sorry I jeopardised the mission”, Kallus said, meeting Hera’s eyes. “I should’ve said something the moment I realised my presence was a complication.”

“You couldn’t have known it would escalate this badly”, she replied. 

“Still, I should have said something.”

“Like that Nakamos was the Lasat mercenary who killed your men on Onderon?” Zeb threw in.

Kallus gave him a surprised look. “You remember that?”

“Of course I remember that. Why wouldn’t I?”

“We’re were enemies at the time. You didn’t have to believe a single word I saying.”

“You believed me.”

Kallus couldn’t quite meet his eyes after that. “Yeah, well I thought you liked having another Lasat around.”

“An asshole who brags about his kill count that includes injured soldiers?” Zeb shook his head with a scoff. “He said something to you, didn’t he? That’s why you were so on edge.”

Kallus hesitated. What he was about to say was a serious accusation against an allied rebel cell. For all he knew Nakamos could’ve just been fucking with him. Still he decided to trust Zeb with this. “He told me why he kept me alive.”

“And?”

“Apparently Gerrera finances his rebellion by selling the least injured Imperial soldiers he can catch on the slave market on Zygerria. I was only spared because the Empire arrived too quickly. Of course I have no proof and maybe he just lied to mess with me.”

He braced for their rejection because this couldn’t be the truth. Gerrera saw the Empire as an occupying force, making every Imperial even civilians and wounded soldiers a legitimate target. Killing them was one thing but selling them into slavery another.

“But those were just rumours to scare – “Sabine stopped, pressing her hands over her mouth.

“Yeah I heard those as well but I never thought they could be true”, Wedge said.

“What rumours?” Hera asked.

“At the academy there was a rumour that if you’re deployed to Onderon you either end up dead or disappear, no body, no nothing. And since none of those who disappeared were declared traitors someone made the joke that they were being sold as slaves in the outer rim”, Wedge explained. “But there were dozens of rumours about rebel planets. No one took them seriously. It was just a scare tactic to keep us from defecting.”

Next to him Sabine nodded. She had heard the same tales at her academy as well.

“Knew Gerrera was a sick fuck”, Zeb growled.

Kallus blinked. He didn’t think they would believe him. 

“But if there’s no way to prove it…” Ezra trailed off.

“Maybe there is”, Kallus said. “Nakamos said he marked all of his slaves like he marked me.”

“Marked you?” Zeb asked.

Kallus brushed his beard aside enough to make the scars on each cheek visible. “When I was lying there after he had killed my men, Nakamos stood over me. I thought he was going to kill me, but instead he knelt down and cut my face. The knife was coated in something that made the wounds scar despite the bacta. Just when he was done, reinforcements arrived and he vanished into the jungle.”

He felt Zeb’s hand squeeze his arm lightly and the looks the others were giving him, even Kanan’s expression beneath his mask - they all believed him. What was more they all trusted him on his word alone. The wave of affection he felt for them was almost overwhelming. The last time he had felt like this had been with his first team and not once in the fifteen years he had been with the Empire since.

“If Saw is really selling Imperials into slavery, the easiest place to do it is Zygerria”, Kanan said continued the conversation.

“We’ll need proof if we’re going to accuse him of anything”, Sabine pointed out.

“Executing wounded soldiers is bad enough but slavery….” Hera shuddered. “I hope we’re wrong.”

“So do I”, Ezra said quietly. “Because if we’re not then Saw helped the Empire to build whatever they were building on Geonosis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is going to be one more chapter about Zygerria and lots of talking and decision making


	4. Chapter 4

They decided to stay for another night on Geonosis since with everything that had happened their window for leaving was now dangerously close to the Imperial patrol passing the planet. Once they had finished their discussion, making the decision to make a detour for Zygerria before reporting to the Rebellion again, Kallus had fallen asleep pretty quickly. Now that Nakamos was parsecs away, he finally felt safe again. He knew the situation wasn’t over, not by far, but knowing that his team was on his side helped a lot.

There was one more apology he needed to make though and maybe, just maybe, it could be more than just an apology. He was on his way from what passed as a med bay on the Ghost to Zeb’s room when he was stopped by Wedge.

“Fulcrum”, he said when he was in front of Kallus. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Kallus couldn’t think of anything Wedge had to be sorry for, especially not to him.

“When I saw you with Nakamos that night I thought you and him - “

“It was easy to misunderstand the situation.” And Kallus had done nothing to clear it up despite knowing what kind of impression it would likely leave with Wedge.

“Still, I’m sorry. I was wrong to suspect you and I should’ve trusted you.”

Wedge’s earnest apology felt like a balm after the past few days. Kallus reached out with his uninjured hand and squeezed Wedge’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you”, Wedge smiled back at him.

With his spirits lifted like that Kallus knocked on Zeb’s door. He stood there and waited, each second feeling like an eternity. His idea of an apology seemed more and more stupid to him with each passing moment until Zeb eventually opened the door.

“Hey”, he said. “Shouldn’t you be still in med bay?”

“I’m fine”, Kallus replied. “There is something I’d like to show you.”

His heart was racing in his chest and he was almost certain Zeb would send him away, but to Kallus’ relief he replied, “Okay.”

“It’s...outside”, Kallus added self-consciously. 

Zeb raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything until he had followed Kallus out of the Ghost. “Is there a reason you’re dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night?” He asked, rubbing his eyes while he followed Kallus away from the ship. Kanan had the watch but he said nothing about the two of them leaving in the dead of night.

Kallus said nothing and simply kept walking until they reached the entrance of the factory leading outside. It was a silly and sentimental idea and he needed to go through with it before he talked himself out of it.

Zeb barely managed to keep his eyes open and nearly crashed into Kallus when he suddenly stopped.

“Look.” The hoarseness of Kallus’ voice had nothing to do with the bruises on his throat. 

Zeb followed the line of Kallus’ outstretched arm and then he saw it. A small blue moon was rising over the horizon, the snow on its surface reflecting back the sunlight from the other side of Geonosis in all shades of blue, purple, pink and red. It was as if someone had painted it with all the colours of dawn against the night sky.

“Bahryn?” Zeb asked despite knowing the answer.

“Bahryn”, Kallus replied. “Thought you’d like to see it before we’re leaving.” He couldn’t meet Zeb’s eyes, too scared of his reaction. It had been stupid to bring him here, stupid to think it could change anything. “I’m sorry.” 

“I’m sorry, too”, Zeb said unexpectedly. “I should’ve noticed something was wrong. I didn’t think it’d be that but I could tell something was off.”

“I should’ve told you”, Kallus replied because how could’ve Zeb guessed this? 

“Yeah, well it seems there’s a lot of things we should’ve talked about”, Zeb said. He reached out and gently pushed a few strands of Kallus’ hair from his face. “I just don’t think now’s the time.”

There was a word for the feeling that was blooming in his chest but he had always found it a little too nebulous, too broad in its meaning and interpretation. 

“Zeb…” What he wanted to say as “Please take me back”, but that would be pushing for too much, too soon. Instead he caught Zeb’s hand with his and held on tight, standing next to him as they watched Bahryn rose on Geonosis’ night sky. The last time he had seen Bahryn he had been intent on killing Zeb. Now nothing could be further from the truth. 

They walked back to the Ghost still holding hands and when they stopped in front of Zeb’s room, he asked, “Do you want to come in?”

“Do you want me to?” Kallus looked up at Zeb, barely trusting his voice with the words. “I thought…”

“Our argument yesterday? That wasn’t a break-up”, Zeb told him. He tilted his head towards the room. “Come inside.”

Kallus did.

/

Zygerria was a beautiful planet, its many cities built on plateaus while farms and grasslands filled with grazing animals littered the plains. Its yellow sky bathed everything in a warm light and its ancient history could be read in every building, some of them older than the founding of the Republic. It had been the centre of a galaxy-spanning empire once and did everything to preserve that culture. In many ways Zygerria was similar to Naboo and Kallus briefly thought as they landed that Thrawn would like it, steeped in art and history as it was.

He pushed his thoughts aside as he joined the others to lay out the mission details. 

“Do we even have a plan?” Ezra asked. “How do we find out if and who Nakamos sold the people he captured to?”

“Asking around?” Zeb suggested. “It’s not like anyone on this planet is ashamed of how they make their living.” 

“If we need you to, can you help the conversation along?” Sabine asked Kanan.

Kanan shrugged. “Minds tricks were never my strength but I’ll try my best.”

“Even if we find the slaver Nakamos has been selling to, how do we proof that it was him? And that Saw knew about it?”

“Saw admitted it to you readily enough”, Hera replied. “And even if we find only proof connecting Nakamos to the sale of slaves, Saw would be hard pressed to deny that he knew anything about it when Nakamos is part of his inner circle and has been with him since the Clone Wars.”

“As Zeb said, no one on this planet is ashamed of how they make money”, Sabine added. 

“Zeb and I will stay with the Ghost”, Hera said. “The rest of you should be fine as long as you don’t get separated.”

“Why are you two staying?” Wedge asked. 

“Twi’lek women are often preyed on for their beauty”, Kanan explained. “And Lasat are rare. Hera and Zeb would draw a lot of unwanted attention.”

Wedge looked like he regretted even asking but he wasn’t the only one. Slavery was a touchy subject, spreading throughout the galaxy with the Empire using slaves itself and turning a blind eye to the increased slave trade without formally lifting the laws against it. 

“You should stay, too”, Kallus said to Wedge. “You’re a pilot, this is a bit outside of your skillset.”

Wedge didn’t look happy but he nodded anyway. “You’re probably right. Besides this way I can swoop in on Saw’s ship and save you all in case something goes wrong. Just be careful, Fulcrum.”

“I’ll be fine”, Kallus replied and for the first time in days he meant it.

“And remember, keep your heads down and together”, Kanan added. “No matter what you see out there, we cannot help these people.” The regret and guilt in his voice was palpable. 

/

Zygerria’s capital was busy and theirs was by far not the only ship landing. They came in all shapes and sizes from the luxury Naboo skiffs to freighters big enough to house an entire colony. Kallus recognised more than a few Imperial ships as well and white, grey and black Imperial uniforms could be seen amongst the crowds.

Most of the slave trade was conducted outside with the captured men, women and children lined up against the walls so that potential customers could inspect them. Most were humanoid with Twi’leks being overrepresented and many of the non-humanoids belonged to the larger species like Wookies or Aqualish. 

The streets were filled with the loud praise traders had for their slaves, the sound of people arguing over prices and the guards’ whips hitting people and stonework alike. Kallus did his best not to let his unease show. If reinforcements had arrived only a few minutes later back on Onderon he would’ve ended up here too.

“Where should we start?” Sabine asked. She too looked uncomfortable. They all did with the possible exception of Kanan whose face gave nothing away.

“Let’s try asking that guy”, Ezra said and walked towards a slave trader who was one of the few who had more humans lined up than Twi’leks. When he saw them approach his face changed into a pleasant, business-minded expression.

“You look like you need help on your farm, am I wrong?” He asked, his eyes flitting between Kallus and Kanan as if he was waiting to see who of them spoke for their group.

“Actually”, Ezra said, “We want some information.”

The pleasant expression vanished at once, replaced by suspicion. “What kind of information?”

“We’re looking for a trader who sells people with marks on their cheeks, one on each side”, Kanan said.

“I see”, the slave trader narrowed his eyes at Kallus. “Trying to return something? I’ll give you a good price for him and give you a better one. I’ve sold much of my merchandise to mines and farms.”

“Sorry, but we’re looking for this trader for a different reason”, Ezra replied.

“I can’t help you then”, the slave trader said. “I don’t deal in personal issues, just merchandise.”

“You will give us a name”, Kanan said and something in his voice sent a shiver down Kallus’ spine. He had heard about these kind of Jedi abilities but he had never witnessed them himself.

“I will give you the name”, the slave trader replied dutifully, his eyes a little blank. “Trem Fortuna.”

“Where can we find her?” Kanan asked but Kallus had noticed that he had frowned at little at the name as if he had recognised it.

“The waterfall square near the royal palace”, the slave trader replied dutifully.

“Thank you for your cooperation”, Ezra added with a grin.

As they walked towards the town centre and the royal palace Kallus asked Kanan, “You recognised the name?”

“The Fortunas are a clan of Twi’leks involved in every shady enterprise in the Outer Rim from Nar Shadaa to Tatooine. But I wouldn’t have thought they’d be involved in the slave trade on Zygerria.”

“Well if she’s selling Imperials it might be her way of getting back at the Empire for letting slavers operate on Ryloth”, Sabine said.

Kanan shook his head. “I don’t think anyone of the Fortuna clan has that much of a conscience. No, what worries me is that if a Twi’lek can openly work as a slave trader and this close to the royal palace, apparently selling Imperial citizens, then she or the clan has a lot of powerful friends.”

“You’re saying we should be careful”, Ezra said.

“Yes, I’m saying we should be very careful”, Kanan replied with a worried undertone.

The longer they walked through the capital, the more Kallus realised that his first comparison of Zygerria and Naboo had been more apt than he had realised. Every corner, every building and artwork spoke of Zygerria’s long history. Even after their Empire had collapsed they had never been part of the Republic and they had never been conquered. Thousands of years of continuous, uninterrupted civilisation had build magnificence of which Kallus had never seen anything like it before, but at a high price. 

He needed to concentrate on the art and architecture to ignore the suffering around him. The noise of a whip, cries of pain, a woman sobbing as her child was sold away from her...next to him he could see Kanan gritting his teeth. And in front of him Sabine had a hand on Ezra’s shoulder to keep him from doing something that would draw attention.

On the other side of the street Imperial troops marched a chain gang of Wookies back towards the spaceport. They’d most likely be transported to the spice mines on Kessel and would probably die there. 

How many people, Kallus wondered, had he killed when he had put Ibar on starvation rations? He didn’t know but it had been too many regardless. There was so much blood on his hands, it would’ve been better if he had been enslaved on Onderon like he should’ve been.

“Someone else would’ve done your job”, Kanan said quietly, startling Kallus.

“Did you read my mind?” He demanded to know.

“I didn’t have to”, Kanan replied. “No one says your deeds for the Empire are forgiven. But you need to concentrate on the future if you want to change anything.”

Kallus thought about his talk with Hera before the mission to Geonosis, about the things Saw had said. “Easier said than done.”

“You’ll find your way.”

/

Trem Fortuna was a pale brown elderly Twi’lek who presided over her large stand and multiple sales people from a comfortable chair, kept in the shadows by four slaves who doubled as bodyguards going by the shock collars and weapons. Her demeanour left no doubt that she was in charge around here and wouldn’t tolerate any slight against her. Kanan had been right about the Trem Fortuna’s lack of conscience since there were multiple Twi’leks amongst her slaves, both the ones she was selling and those that were waiting on her

At the edge of the waterfall square Kanan pulled Kallus and Sabine aside. “I’ll distract here while you to find her office and copy her data. Everything you can find that would prove a connection between her, Saw or Nakamos.”

“Why us?” Sabine asked just when Kallus had the same question.

A smile played around Kanan’s lips. “You two were very successful last time.”

“Last time we didn’t have to worry about guards”, Kallus pointed out.

“You’ll be fine”, Kanan said with a confidence that neither Kallus nor Sabine was feeling. 

They walked along the edge of the waterfall square and watched as Kanan and Ezra approached Trem Fortuna. Two more guards stepped out of an alcove to stop them and undoubtly there were more waiting in the shadows where no one could see them.

“Trem Fortuna”, Kanan said, his voice carrying easily through the square “We’re here to discuss one of your suppliers: Saw Gerrera.”

“That’s Mistress Fortuna to you”, Trem replied but waved the guards aside nonetheless.

“So it’s true he sends you slaves?” Kanan asked.

Kallus counted the niches and corners of the building and calculated how many guards could hide there. “Twelve”, he said quietly. “I think we should get twelve.”

Trem scoffed. “Quit playing around, boy. My time is valuable. What do you want?”

Sabine nodded. “I’ll need at least four for my work”, she added, playing along. In another life she would’ve made a terrific intelligence officer for the Empire.

“Are you aware he’s sending you Imperial citizens?”

“Eight altogether might be too distracting”, Kallus replied as they walked around the house. “And we’ll need some for the house too.”

Trem shrugged. “This isn’t the Empire. If you cannot prove that you own yourself, then you’re up for sale, no matter who you are.”

“As long as they don’t make too much noise, I don’t mind how many we get”, Sabine said, slightly tugging at her sleeve to reveal her colourful, Mandalorian gauntlets.

“Do you have any proof Saw Gerrera sold people to you?”

“Why does that concern you?”

They had reached the side of the house. So far no one had stopped them but there were at least twelve guards between them and a window leading to the inside. 

“It should concern you”, Kanan replied. “The Empire his hunting, sooner or later his trail will lead them here.”

Sabine pushed a button on her gauntlet and only a moment later Ezra looked down at his own wrist. To his credit he didn’t look in their direction but instead touched Kanan’s elbow.

Trem threw her head back and laughed. “I’ve sold more than one piece of Gerrera’s merchandise back to the Empire. I supply them with good workers, they do not care about anything else. I’m tempted to sell you for your impertinence but a cripple doesn’t fetch a good price.” Her eyes wandered from Kanan to Ezra. “I’ll take your entourage though if you keep bothering me.”

Kanan and Ezra ignited their light sabers. “I don’t think so”, Ezra grinned as he jumped amongst the slaves that were lined up and began to open their shock collars while Kanan distracted the guards. The chaos was perfect. No one noticed Sabine shooting a grappling hook through the window or her and Kallus climbing through it. 

They were in some kind of storage room leading to a kitchen. No one was here and there didn’t seem to be any surveillance. But even if there was, he and Sabine only needed to be quick not invisible. Kallus tried to summon a potentially blueprint of the house and its layout given what little he knew about it when Sabine beat him to it.

“Her office will be on the front but open to the inner yard so it’s quiet but she can get rid of people quickly and still impress them.”

“If we hadn’t both defected you’d have taken my job someday”, Kallus told her. Maybe not the best compliment but it made her smile.

“I’ll take that as a compliment”, she replied and took the lead. As he followed her Kallus tried to listen to what was going on outside but the house was well built and he couldn’t tell if Kanan and Ezra were still fighting outside or if they had already had to run.

Kallus noticed the two guards the same time as Sabine did. As they hadn’t left their post regardless of the commotion going on outside they were doubtlessly guarding something important. “Left or right?” Kallus asked Sabine.

She raised an eyebrow. “What, you can’t take them both?”

“Guess I should make myself useful.” The armour they wore was the same of the Zygerrian guards outside, old-fashioned, mostly decorative and it left the throat exposed. Kallus needed less than a minute to strangle them both into unconsciousness. As Sabine worked on opening the door he dragged the bodies to another room and locked the door. “Did you get in?”

Sabine nodded and pushed the door open. The office was lavishly decorated and looked more like a salon than a workspace. The computer was carefully hidden and encased to make it look more like a part of the decorations than anything else. 

Kallus kept an eye on the door as he joined Sabine at the desk. 

“It’s too much date”, she said as she scrolled through it. “We’ll have to copy it all and sort through it later.”

“Wait”, Kallus touched the holoscreen and rapidly went between different data streams. The labelling was coded in strings of numbers and letters but there was a pattern there. He knew it. “I found Nakamos.”

“How?”

“The labels are done in a Revan chiffre, pretty old method to encode but I guess Zygerrians like old things”, Kallus said and tapped on the holoscreen. “That one says Nakamos.”

Sabine downloaded the folder as she asked, “Why can you read Revan chiffre? It’s four thousand years old.”

“It’s used by Rebell cells on the planets that were the most heavily involved in the Jedi-Mandalorian civil war like Kashyyk or Taris or Onderon”, he added after a moment. He and his men had practiced it before the mission to Onderon. Afterwards it had been something he had kept refreshing in his mind to keep a part of them alive.

Thankfully Sabine didn’t ask any further questions. On Kallus’ advice she deleted Trem Fortuna’s files to at least inconvenience her for a while, and they left the same way they had come in. 

“Shouldn’t we help Kanan and Ezra?” Kallus asked when Sabine turned into the opposite direction.

“They’ll be fine”, Sabine replied. “I let Ezra know we’re out. We’ll meet back at the ship.”

/

Meet back at the ship in this case meant that Kanan and Ezra yelled at Hera over the radio to start the engines and jumped onto the Ghost at the last second while they were being pursued by a large amount of angry Zygerrian guards.

“Please tell me you found something useful”, Ezra panted as he leaned against the closest wall.

“We found proof that Nakamos is selling people to Trem Fortuna”, Sabine replied. “And since he’s in Saw’s inner circle...”

“It’s unlikely Saw doesn’t know about it”, Kanan finished for her. “We all knew it was the most likely outcome.”

“But still, slavery?” Hera wrapped her arms around herself. “How can you hate anyone that much?”

No one had an answer to her question, though in the privacy of his own Kallus could see why Gerrera did what he did. It was both pragmatic and satisfying his thirst for revenge on the Empire. To Saw Gerrera you were either against the Empire or you were the Empire. Kallus had been that dogmatic once too. And without Zeb, who had made him question his entire existence, he still would be. Kallus had known the Empire was using slaves but he had tolerated it because he had believed they served a greater purpose. He had been so wilfully ignorant about the Empire that he couldn’t afford to repeat his mistakes.

“Hey”, Zeb appeared at his side, rousing him from his thoughts just when Kallus had been thinking about him. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Zeb tilted his head sceptically. “I could hear you thinking from across the room. And they weren’t good thoughts going by your face.”

“I just – “Kallus was about to make an excuse when he caught himself and made a decision. “I think we should talk.”

If Zeb could hear him think from across the room then so could Kallus as he followed Zeb back to their cabin. They didn’t speak another word as they walked through the Ghost and Kallus tried to tell himself that it didn’t have to end badly. They had come so far, surely they could make it through this as well.

There was a moment of awkwardness when Kallus closed the door behind them, both of them waiting for the other to start the conversation they should have had months ago.

“I haven’t forgotten that you were on Lasan”, Zeb said finally. “I’ve not forgiven you for it either but I meant when I said that everyone deserves a chance at redemption. You didn’t have to become Fulcrum and risk your life to give us intel.”

“I was Fulcrum, yes, but Saw is right, I’m not useful anymore.”

“You’re as useful as any of us. What we’re doing - “

“That’s not what I mean”, Kallus interrupted him. “This, the Ghost, it’s what you’re good at. I’m not.”

“You’ve proven your commitment - “

“No, I have not. At the end of this war, whether we win or not, I need to be able to say that I did the best I could. That I gave the Rebellion as much as I gave the Empire.”

“What are you saying?”

“General Draven has been trying to recruit me for Rebel Intelligence. I think I should accept.”

Zeb became very, very still. “Most of their field operatives die within their first twenty missions.”

“I know, but I need...I need to work for my redemption. What I’m doing here on the Ghost is running away from potentially uncomfortable questions again.”

“Why?”

“I’m afraid of what I’ll find. What if underneath it all the Rebellion isn’t any better than the Empire? What if Gerrera isn’t the exception but the rule?”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I didn’t believe it about the Empire either. But if we win this war I want to be with you. And I want to be worthy of you.”

“Karabast! Don’t kriffin do that, not for me.”

“I’m doing it for me, too. For my own peace of mind so that after the war I’ll be able to move on”, Kallus stepped forwards and took Zeb’s hands into his. “When I think of the future I see only you.”

“What about now?” Zeb asked, his voice sounding a little rough. “We might not both see the end of the war.”

“We’ll make do with what we have”, Kallus replied. “Until there is a time when we can both move on from Onderon and Lasan.”

“Not much I can say to change your mind, is there?”

Kallus shook his head even though if Zeb really didn’t want to let him go, he would stay. But despite not being a defector Zeb knew something about the feeling to have to earn your life and he knew Kallus. He wouldn’t ask it of him.

“If you die, I’ll be really cross with you”, Zeb said as he pulled Kallus closer. “I’ll get Kanan to annoy your ghost through the Force.”

“I’ll try my best not to die”, Kallus replied as he pressed his face against Zeb’s chest and inhaled deeply. Lasat didn’t exactly smell good to humans but he wanted to keep it as a memory regardless. He wanted to get closer, wanted to melt into Zeb and be a part of him. Then they never would have to return to the world and this would never have to end.

/

General Dodonna’s face grew more and more concerned the longer he read their report. When he was finished he put the holopad on the table with a sigh. “I’m going to recommend to Mon Mothma that we terminate our agreement with the Partisans officially and for once and for all. But given the current situation I understand that’s more a formality than anything else.”

Kanan nodded. “The mission to Geonosis was less successful than we had hoped.”

“At least you brought something back. General Draven has your list and is doing what he can to find a lead on whatever the Empire was building on Geonosis.”

“What about Saw Gerrera?” Hera asked. “He’s not going to end his slaver operation just because we found him out.”

Dodonna gave her a sad, understanding look. “No, he is not. But unfortunately there is not much we can do about Saw Gerrera. We cannot fight at two different fronts. Should we win this war we will put Gerrera and the Partisans before a tribunal. His tendency for civilian targets has a lot of people baying for his blood, both inside the Empire and outside of it.”

“But until then he’s free to do as he pleases”, Hera said bitterly.

“We have information that the Empire is making moves to oust him from Onderon. It’ll hinder his work to lose his homebase”, Dodonna offered as comfort. “Alternatively, your father might...”

“Saw didn’t sell any Twi’leks so my father won’t care”, Hera cut him off. “He cares about Imperial citizens as much as Saw does.”

Dodonna nodded as if he had expected such an answer. “I’m given to understand you have a meeting arranged with one of Saw’s men to exchange your ships?” When Hera nodded, he continued. “Could you give him a letter please? It’ll an official document confirming that the Alliance has disaffiliated the Partisans.”

“We will deliver the documents to Saw”, Kanan replied. He and Hera took their leave and Kallus followed them to the hallway. But where they kept walking, he turned left. There was something he had to do.

General Draven didn’t seem surprised that Kallus had changed his mind, he accepted his transfer request with a brief nod and approved it immediately. “When are you ready to start?” He asked.

“Within the next few hours”, Kallus replied. “I need to inform my old team and collect my belongings from the Ghost but once that’s done I’m ready.”

“You have some experience as an intelligence agent. I’ll give you the rank of captain so you can work independently. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Sir”, Kallus saluted and left, his approved transfer request in his hand. He wondered how Hera would react when he told her that he had accepted Draven’s offer only a few days refusing it. He didn’t think she’d be surprised, maybe it had always just been a matter of time until he realised that his place in the Rebellion wasn’t on the Ghost.

/

It felt like a deja-vu, walking into Hera’s office and saluting her. “Commander Syndulla.”

“What can I do for you, Kallus?” Hera looked up from her work and greeted him with a warm smile. 

Once he would’ve imprisoned, tortured and executed her without losing a night’s sleep over it and he was sincerely glad that he wasn’t that person anymore. “I’ve spoken to General Draven. I’m going to transfer to the intelligence unit effective immediately.”

Contrary to his imagination Hera was visibly surprised by his decision. “Are you sure?”

“I am”, Kallus said and added, “Saw was right. I am useless to the Rebellion outside of the Empire and on this ship. I was trained as an intelligence officer. It’s time I pull my weight around here and do what I can do best.”

“You had your reasons to refuse.”

“I did. I do. But my peace of mind is not more important than the Rebellion. If we win this war, I will have time to learn to live with my decisions.”

“And Zeb?” 

Kallus somehow managed not to wince. Hera certainly wasn’t pulling her punches. “We’ve talked about it. He doesn’t like it but he understands my decision.”

“It doesn’t look like there’s anything I can say to change your mind”, Hera said, smiling. “But if you do change your mind, there will always be a place on the Ghost for you, Kallus.”

“Alexsandr”, Kallus said. It felt strange to use his first name again, after burying it with the rest of his family on Coruscant twenty years ago. But he was part of a family again. “My name is Alexsandr.”

Hera pulled him into a hug. “Good luck, Alexsandr.”

The Ghost was quiet as he walked through it, the others being busy somewhere on base. Yavin was a nice place to have some downtime on. The last time he and Zeb had gone to a nearby lake, just the two of them and hadn’t returned until the next morning.

Having fled the Empire with literally nothing but the clothes on his back, Kallus didn’t have much to pack. He did grab his old uniform though. If he needed to pose as an Imperial officer it would look more convincing if his clothes actually fit him. 

There was no reason for him to stay, yet he idled, looking around the room when he should already have left. Kallus had never thought of himself as sentimental but maybe that was because he had never had left anything he hadn’t wanted to leave behind. Now that he had, he was dragging his feet to allow himself one more moment.

To his surprise the others were waiting for him outside. Kallus had never wanted to leave less than in this moment and yet he knew that he had to go. 

“You didn’t think we’d just let you leave without saying goodbye first?” Ezra asked when he caught the look on Kallus face.

“It’s not like I’m leaving forever. I’m just working on a different team.”

“Espionage isn’t exactly the easiest unit out there”, Rex said, slapping his shoulder. “You could be joining logistics.”

“And leave all the fun to you? I don’t think so.”

Sabine stepped forwards, holding a pair of gauntlets, painted their signature phoenix. “Take care of yourself, Spectre 7.”

“Thank you”, Kallus replied as he took them, genuinely touched by her gesture.

“In case Hera didn’t already offer you a place – “Kanan started but Kallus interrupted him.

“Don’t worry, she did. And maybe one day I can take her up on it.”

Zeb was the last one waiting for him and despite them having talked this through already, it felt like the hardest part. Kallus took Zeb’s hand into his and stepped so close that their foreheads were almost touching. 

“This isn’t goodbye”, Zeb said and Kallus nodded even though it felt exactly like that. 

“I’ll get you all the good leads from the inside, just like before.”

“Just don’t get caught.”

Kallus couldn’t say anything to that. War wasn’t a place for promises. “If you find Thrawn before me, he still has my bo-rifle and my meteor. I’d like those back.”

Zeb let out a low chuckle. “I see what I can do.”

There was nothing left to say. Kallus’ hand slipped from Zeb’s as he stepped backwards and turned around. He looked at all of them, the people he had tried to kill, the very same people he was willing to die for. 

“Fulcrum.”

“Wedge!” Ezra yelled as Wedge jogged towards them. “I thought you forgot.”

“I’m not here to say goodbye”, Wedge said as he stopped next to Kallus. “General Draven asked me to bring Captain Kallus to the rendezvous point with Captain Andor for his first mission.”

“Did you join Intelligence, too?” Rex asked.

Wedge shook his head but he grinned. “Commander Syndulla just likes to loan me out to other units to show off what a good pilot I am.”

“Let’s get going then”, Kallus said to Wedge before he addressed the others one last time, “I’ll see you around.” He turned and left and did not look back. He would see them again or he would not, either way, he was ready.

**Author's Note:**

> Considering what we've seen the rebellion do in Rogue One I figured "just" executing wounded soldiers wouldn't cut it and Saw had done or condoned something pretty nasty to cause the break between the rebellion and the partisans.


End file.
